Mind Games
by Cursa
Summary: Mind control: the Military’s latest obsession the perfect weapon in any war. But such a gift comes with a price. I have paid that price.
1. Chapter 1

**Summery: ** Ed is not the youngest State Alchemist. Another 12-year-old has claimed the title. She popped out of the woodwork, and the only thing anyone knows about her for sure is her age. Seriously, this summery doesn't do my plot justice; I honestly can't say anything more without giving something away!

**Rated:** T

**Disclaimer: **The only thing I own here (as if yet) is Tammy, the Energy Alchemist and the Void Alchemist along with their alchemy styles. More original chars will probably pop up as they are needed, or if I feel like giving a random person a random name with a random purpose in life.

Mind Games

Cursa

Chapter 1

_Mind control: the Military's latest obsession;_

_the perfect weapon in any war._

_But such a gift comes with a price._

_I have paid that price._

A 12-year-old girl dressed in white from head to toe leaned stiffly against the wall. Her short blond hair was light enough to make her tan look darker than it really was, but it still didn't hide the fact that she looked to be about ten. Her face was blank, but on the inside she was fighting a losing battle to try to calm the fluttering of her heart that seemed to resonate in her stomach. There was nothing she could do to that worked. She had tried pacing, when that didn't work, she resorted to fidgeting, and now she was standing still as a statue, waiting for the doors to open and for her to learn her fate.

The handle turned and she tensed. Juliet, the President's new secretary, calmly poked her head into the. "They are ready for you now." The woman told her, moving aside to let her pass.

Now that the time had come, she found the fluttering in her stomach had turned into a heavy knot. Moistening her lips, she pushed off from the wall and entered the room, Juliet closing the door behind her.

Inside, was a large meeting table with two men sitting at the far end: President Bradley and General Gran, otherwise known as the Iron Blood Alchemist. She saluted them both dutifully and watched as Juliet walked back to her seat.

"Good afternoon," Bradley greeted pleasantly and after receiving a cautious 'Good afternoon, Sir' in return, bid the girl to sit down in the empty seat on his left. Once she was seated, he nodded at the other man who promptly produced a large folder 300 pages deep and placed it in front of her.

"What's this?" she asked, blinking at it. She had _never_ seen a folder that thick.

"It's the contract we wrote," the President replied, untroubled by the question. "You need to sign it before you leave the room."

The 12-year-old looked up at him sharply.

"As you know," he continued, leaning back in his chair, "we have discussed your situation and came to the conclusion that your research is now tantamount to a human transmutation; it is simply too dangerous to look into any further." When the girl continued to frown at him, he waved his hand at the contract. "It is all stated in the folder. Please."

And so began three tedious hours of skimming through the paperwork, reading over carefully the parts that caught her attention the most. At last, she sat back in her chair, trying to absorb what she was about to do.

"You want me to renounce my name?" she asked in shock, absently taking the pen Juliet handed her.

"We had you under house arrest for six months for a reason," the general stated flatly. "Nobody will recognize you anyway. It's as if you were a totally new Alchemist."

"But it says here," she set down the pen and flipped to page 203, "that I am to 'forfeit my name and Alchemy title.' What name am I going to go by, then?"

"If you picked one out for yourself, that could tell them something about you we don't want them to know. We will just have to wait and see." Gran answered.

"Yet I keep my status as State Alchemist?" she asked doubtfully, skipping to page 274 to reread that section.

"Correct." Bradley agreed, "Without having to retake the Alchemy Exam."

"That reminds me, Sir." She said, flopping the folder shut and looking directly at the Commander in Chief. "There are rumors going around that you allowed a _twelve-year-old_ to take the Alchemy Exam." She watched his calm face and saw immediately that he wasn't going to deny it. "I also heard he passed."

"Is that so hard to believe?" the President asked smilingly as Juliet pushed another pen into her hands and opened the folder to the last page of the contract. "_You_ claim to be twelve."

She glared at him. She had known the two men for more years than she could count, yet they treated her like a child. To add insult to injury, she looked young for her age. Young enough, in fact, that on her way to the meeting, she had been stopped three times by soldiers of different rankings asking who she was looking for. While she waited outside, two more soldiers had stopped to ask if she was lost. She had shaken them all off by pretending to see someone she knew. Luckily, everyone had been too busy to truly want to take the time to help her.

When Bradley continued to look at her complacently with his good eye, she soon dropped her gaze to the papers before her and reread the last paragraph.

"I agree to the above terms and from here on in, forfeit my current name, Alchemy title, and personal past, adopting those that my superiors give me as my own, and will immediately move in with my assigned caretaker upon signing on the line below

Glancing up at the two adults in the room who mattered, the girl bit her lip and signed her name on the line, along with the date, before handing the pen back to the secretary.

"Excellent." Bradley said, standing up. "We have already taken care of the move. Your new room number is 202. I think you will find it quite comfortable. The young lady you will be living with will be here in the morning, along with your first assignment."

She stood herself and looked up at the adults. Bradley and Juliet were smiling in approval, Gran was looking grim. Something about the three of them made her feel as though she had just sold her soul. Of course, she had done that when she first became a State Alchemist, so it wasn't a new feeling.

The President raised his hand in salute. "You are dismissed, Alchemist." He told her lightly.

The young girl saluted back, "Thank you, Sir." She said a little stiffly, before turning on her heel and moving down the long table to the door. Slipping outside, she closed it quietly behind her and leaned against it in relief. She was still a State Alchemist. She wouldn't be doing any research, but what she had learned already was enough. All she needed now was a drink to help her relax completely.

Leaving headquarters, she found a bar in town. At four o'clock in the afternoon, no one was in there except the bar man, who looked up as the young alchemist entered. "No kids allowed." He grumbled gruffly.

The girl stepped further in and pointed her left hand at him in such a way that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Didn't you hear me? I said no kids."

In no mood to deal with being mistaken for a ten-year-old, she walked closer, her gloved hand still pointed at him. The bar man clenched his fist nervously, suddenly over come by the feeling that they were being watched, even though he knew for a fact his bar was empty. Who _was_ this kid?

"I want a drink," she said, hopping up onto a bar stool. Sensing there would be trouble if he refused her again, the man swallowed. "Alright, alright," he amended shakily. "What'll it be?"

**Hmmm… I think that will be the end of chapter 1. I don't want to make it too long don't worry; there is a reason why an innocent 12-year-old girl is getting drunk at a bar. All will be revealed in later chapters**


	2. Chapter 2

Mind Games

Cursa

Chapter 2

Tammy was seated comfortably at her desk, twirling the telephone cord in her fingers as she talked to her friend, effectively ignoring the mountain of paper work she still needed to go through with only 45 minutes left of her work day.

"Well I have to go," her friend said finally as a baby's voice became audible in the background. "Cal is crying again…"

Tammy sighed regretfully before saying: "Alright. I'll talk to you later," looking up at the Sergeant in front of her who held out paperwork for her to take. Hanging up, she took it from him. "Thanks." As the man walked away, the paper pusher skimmed the first page. It was a follow up report of the report she had been given last week which, coincidently, was one of the first things she should be taking care of today. The report in her hands, however, didn't look like it was needed for another few weeks. Casually sliding it under an examination one of the privets had dropped off a week ago with the express orders that it was due tomorrow, Tammy added it to her 'eventually' pile.

Stretching luxuriously in her chair, the young woman, instead of getting started on work, took out a book and turned to the page she had left off.

Thirty minutes into her reading break, a shadow fell over her. Looking up, she saw the Iron Blood Alchemist and quickly jumped to her feet to salute him.

"General Gran, sir."

"Good afternoon, Tammy," He greeted a little stiffly and, without preamble, handed her a thin packet. "You have been reassigned, this will be in effect starting tomorrow."

"What?" she asked, dropping her hand in astonishment.

"Everything is explained in the report," the general said dismissively and departed with a final salute.

Sitting back down at her desk, she read her orders. As of now, she was no longer a paper pusher. Instead, she was to move in with a young state alchemist and be her guardian, which included doing the chores and research she was too busy to do and make weekly reports on the girl's 'stability' as they called it. A name was never mentioned and Tammy, curious, flipped to the girl's profile that had been added for her benefit, finding herself gazing into two large, innocent, light brown eyes. Tammy scanned the information to the right of the picture and frowned thoughtfully. A State Alchemist at that age! Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was the time she would normally be heading to the cafeteria for dinner and she quickly flipped back to the front page, eager to talk to some of the other privets about her new orders.

Ten minutes later, the young privet was sitting down at a cafeteria bench with her friends and fellow low-ranking soldiers.

"So Tammy, I heard you've been reassigned," said Nick with a teasing smile. "They finally realized how useless you are, huh?"

"Nope, they finally got smart and decided deadlines aren't for me," was the reply.

The privet laughed. "No, really. Where're you going?"

Opening her small carton of milk, Tammy took a gulp and answered, "They want me to help out a kid State Alchemist, mostly with house work. I didn't even know they initiated them that young."

"It's based on talent, not age," Cameo put in helpfully.

"And he certainly has that," Nick agreed.

Tammy, on the other hand, was lost. "Who?"

"The Elric kid." Nick pointed in the general direction behind her and to the right and turning around, she spotted the back of a short, pony-tailed guy in a red over coat.

Tammy turned back to her friends. "I'm not talking about him," she told them, pulling out the girl's picture. "This is who I've been assigned to."

The two leaned in to get a good look at the photo. "What's her name?" Cameo asked.

"I don't know. It's classified. Same with her Alchemy name, and damn near everything else about her."

Cameo's eyebrows shot up and Nick shook his head. "I've never heard of her," he said. "Not even a rumor. No one mentioned seeing her in the alchemy trials, either. How old is she?"

"Twelve. If you can believe that."

"And they want you to be her nanny?" Cameo asked skeptically, 'they' being the trio's superiors. "Full Metal doesn't need a nanny and theyre about the same age."

Tammy glanced at the young alchemist who was now getting up from his table. "He's kinda short to be twelve," she commented dryly.

Nick shrugged. "Yeah, but whatever you do, don't say that to his face. I've heard he blows a casket."

"Maybe she looks younger so she'll need help getting around on her own?" Cameo suggested doubtfully. She had always had a one-track mind when it came to conversations.

"People would definitely see her as less of a threat," he agreed with the same air of skepticism. "But she's a state alchemist. She can take care of herself."

There was a lapse in conversation as Full Metal and the group of soldiers he was with passed the table, giving the three a chance to silently mull things over. Tammy finished her meal in silence and dismissed herself, leaving her friends to continue their musing without her.

x x x

The next morning, Tammy found herself in front of number 202, standing in a hallway specifically for soldiers of Major status. Setting down her bag, she dug in her pockets to locate the key she had found on her bed when she had turned in for the night. Under it had been more information on her assignment and instructions to tell the young alchemist to report to General Gran. Heaven forbid they give that to her in the same report she had received her original assignment in.

Pushing open the door, Tammy grabbed her bag and stepped into the room, flicking the light switch and giving the space a once over. To her right, there was an open door through which she could see the master bedroom and to her left there were two doors presumably leading to the bathroom and the guest bedroom. Against one wall there was a bookcase filled with books and in the middle of the room there was a rectangle coffee table with an empty mug resting on its edge. On the far wall there were two windows on either side of the couch and lying on the couch there was the young girl she recognized from her file picture. The girl's white clothes were wrinkled and her hair was less than perfect. It was clear by the blurry look she was giving and the way she was rubbing her eyes that she had slept there all night.

"Tammy Brach, ma'am," she announced, remembering at the last minute to give a quick salute. Unable to think of anything else to say, she continued, "You must be the Void Alchemist."

The girl squinted through the light at her. "Voi?" She cleared her throat, making a face as if she had a bad taste in her mouth, and tried again. "Void?"

Tammy shrugged. "I tried finding more information about you than what they gave me, but I couldn't find anything. I thought it was fitting, all things considered."

She looked up at the ceiling. "Void," she repeated, as though testing it out. Rubbing her face with both of her gloved hands, the girl swung herself into a sitting position and used her momentum to stand. She swayed for a full second before turning green and dashing to the bathroom.

Raising an eyebrow at the sounds of retching that were coming from the partially closed door, Tammy took her things into the spare bedroom, dumping it all on the bed, and began to unpack. A few minutes later, she came out to see Void sitting on the couch with her head between her knees.

"You're drunk," she noted in distaste. "Ma'am," she added hastily. Her assignment was to look after the girl and the first time they met, she was trying to get over a night of drinking. Add that to the fact that she looked young for her age and it would be hard talking to this kid with the respect her rank required.

"It's called a hangover. And yes, I am," Void answered testily, making sure to keep her head down as she talked.

"Do you know of any way to cure a hangover, ma'am? I was told to alert you to an appointment you have with General Gran in 10 minutes."

The girl's head snapped up, turning slightly green from the quick movement. "Shit," she breathed. With that, she jumped up and staggered into the master bedroom. A few minutes later, she was out the door with her hair combed, freshly brushed teeth, and a new change of clothes.

A little taken aback by the abrupt departure, Tammy blinked at the front door for a few seconds. Now what was she supposed to do? She thought for a moment of unpacking but decided there would be plenty of time to do that later. Instead, she curled up on the couch with a blanket, ready to be lost in her book for the next few hours.


End file.
